Since Xmas is only 5 weeks away it doesnt seem like a time for tennis

But there they are Djokovic, Monfils, Nadal and Roger F competing in year ending matches. And Nadal isnt exactly winniing:

Djokovic defeated Nadal for the second consecutive time to improve his overall record to 6-14 against him. He reached his 10th final of the year. Nadal and Djokovic are among eight players who will compete in the ATP World Tour finals on Nov. 22-29 in London.

This hasnt been much of a year for Raf Nadal. Has he reached a premature end to his so promising ATP mens tennis career

Who is ready for the US Open this year?

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Based on performances in Cincinnati last week ending yesterday, it seems that Roger Federer is readier than ever, the Williams duo ain’t nor is Dinara Safina, or Maria, the screamer. Certainly there is reason to doubt that Rafy Nadal will do much better than the quarters again.

For me there are three weeks of engrossing pro tennis action, the Australian in Jan, Wimbledon in late July and the US Open in last Aug and early Sep. So I look forward to next Monday for the start of tennis action in NYC.

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Federer and Nadal get bounced from Rogers Cup ATP tourney in Montreal

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I think that the Rogers Cup is living up to its rep of being a venue for up and coming tennis pros. The two top guys have been put down. I saw Nadal on TV the other night and he looked shaky, especially when he was getting ready to serve. And he didn’t seem so ready to chase down every ball. I guess the condition of his knees gives him a reason to throttle his power game.

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Nadal, Djokovic and Federer are back and in Montreal for the Rogers Cup

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It does seem peculiar that they should all choose this tournament to make their return to pro tennis. On the evidence of their two first games I would say that Roger Federer is ready to play but Nadal looks shaky. Rafy is the defending champion.

My own impression is that he will not repeat and his chances for the US Open don’t impress me!

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Pete Sampras said Roger Federer is the “best tennis player ever”!

After 5 sets with 30 games in the last set, Roger seemed subdued in triumph. As always low key and ever polite he took all kudos in stride, as if he knew that he was going to win all along, even when Roddick seemed in control of the match. If nothing else that makes him “great” I guess. Both players played a hell of a match and statistically Roger hit more winners than Andy so he deserved to win, but the margin was slim. After 4+ hours of play an unforced error by Roddick made the final difference and gave victory to Roger.

So I won’t question his greatness any more, whatever happens when Nadal comes back to possibly meet and beat Roger in the next US Open around 60 days from today. Way to go Roger!

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• Wimbledon: Will Federer Win 15th Grand Slam? (news.sky.com)

Yes I watched Roger Federer finally beat JM Del Potro in 5 at Roland Garros yesterday

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My sense was that I saw a much more experienced player finally beat a more overpowering hitter of ground strokes and booming service game. He did it by tennis guile,  better physical and mental conditioning and deeper experience. But now since he is one match away from a new record of 15 majors, the talk is about his legitimacy as the greatest player of the Open era. Here is an excerpt of that talk in the Sports section of the NY Times:

What is clear is that if Federer wins on Sunday, he will belong on every short list of Grand Slam tennis greatness. Only five men have won all four major singles titles during their careers: Fred Perry of Britain, Don Budge of the United States, Emerson, Laver and Agassi. Budge and Laver are the only men to have completed true Grand Slams, and Agassi is the only man to have won his titles on three different surfaces, because he played after the Australian Open and the United States Open switched from grass to hardcourts.

If Federer wins, his achievement at all four majors will be without equivalent. He has won three titles and reached four finals in Australia. He has reached the final four times in Paris. He has won five titles and reached six finals at Wimbledon. And he has taken five titles at the United States Open.

He has achieved all this in a seven-year span and is still just 27.

“It is amazing,” Annacone said. “If he wins in Paris and someone tells me he’s the greatest ever, I can totally understand why they would say that. But the most exciting part is it’s still an unfinished book. Let’s enjoy the rest of the book.”

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Slip sliding away?

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I saw the incident on a Chinese TV news sports report and realized that Roger F had willfully destroyed his lovely Wilson racket. It’s a first time experience I think to see him do such a thing.

From NY Times article:

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) — Maybe it was the unpredictable wind or the unreliable forehand or the months of unsatisfactory results. Perhaps it was the sweltering mid-afternoon sun.

Whatever the reason, Roger Federer reached his boiling point Friday. He raised his racket over his head and slammed it to the concrete, a shocking outburst from the five-time winner of the ATP Tour’s sportsmanship award.

The tirade came during a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals at the Sony Ericsson Open — the latest evidence Federer’s in meltdown mode.

A year ago it was Raf and Roger. Now it’s Raf, Roger or Andy

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This quote from an NY Times article explains what has happened in Grand Slam Tennis matches:

Rafael Nadal is no longer the only hobgoblin in Roger Federer’s closet. Andy Murray has taken up residence after extending his winning streak over Federer, the former master of men’s tennis, to four consecutive matches.

. . .

Federer sat atop the world rankings for a record 237 consecutive weeks until his inability to beat Nadal bumped him to No. 2 in August. Nadal is 13-6 against Federer. But Murray is now 6-2, including those four consecutive victories since October. The assumption that Nadal and Federer will play for the championship of any important tournament no longer seems inevitable.

But Julian Barnes has written “There is nothing to be frightened of“. So take heart Roger, you are human  and you can be beaten on any given day, after all.

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Roger Federer loses again to Andy Murray in the Qatar Open

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Read ‘em and weep, Roger’s fandom!

Andy Murray is currently ranked fourth in the world
In-form Andy Murray has played down his tag as one of the favourites for the forthcoming Australian Open.
The 21-year-old has had a superb start to the year, defending his Qatar Open crown a week after beating Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in Abu Dhabi.

Go get ‘em Andy!

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Wow, the ‘09 Tennis season starts with a bang!

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Here’s the headline:

Nadal in shock defeat to Monfils

World number one Rafael Nadal crashed out of the Qatar Open after a straight sets defeat to France’s Gael Monfils.

The fifth seed had never won a set in three previous meetings with Nadal, but dominated from the start to cruise home 6-4 6-4 and make the semi-finals.

And the article goes on to predict a hot meeting between a reviving Federer and a healthy defending champ, Andy Murray. But knocking Rafy out should give Monfils some credibility in the struggle he has to find a consistent winning game of tennis. But ‘09 should offer lots of very competitive and great tennis!

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